Save the Legion Park Disc Golf Course and Thomas Park Hill.

(Please disregard any pop-ups requesting donations. We are interested only in your signature to show your support.)

Heads up, Legion Park disc golf fans and fans of family-friendlyThomas
Park. The City of Marion Parks and
Recreation Department has plans to give land at the top of the park's wooded
hill to real estate developers interested in building condominiums. This is
being called a "land swap" and is an effort on the part of the Marion
Parks and Recreation Department to rectify its own mistake in encroaching on
private property when it did not abide to the original outlay of the new bike
trail as planned in conjunction with surveyors.

This proposal will impact the quality of Thomas Park by:

1. Destroying a lovely green space enjoyed by hundreds of local
citizens each week.

2. Destroying a natural
habitat that is home to white tail deer, foxes, raccoons, morel mushrooms, wild
phlox and more.

3. Eliminating a decades old tradition of children sledding on
the Thomas Park hillside.

4. Negatively impacting the city park's ability to provide light,
air, and open space to its users due to multi-family residential buildings
overcrowding the park space.

5. Raising concerns about the safety and well-being of park
users as multi-family residential buildings create a denser human population
surrounding the park's main area of use.

6. Raising concerns about water flow, drainage, and soil erosion
due to construction on the hill.

This proposal will impact the disc golf course by:

1. Eliminating the course's first few holes, necessitating that
disc golfers walk several hundred yards into the back of the park, restricting
accessibility.

2. Disrupting the flow of the course from hole to hole.

3. Degrading the caliber of play at Legion Park, which
is now a highly regarded, professional course that is home to an annual
tournament; bringing to Marion over 150 professional and amateur players from
throughout the Midwest each spring.

4. Destroying the natural setting of the course which
has a combination of wooded and open shots along with elevation changes that
are enjoyed by hundreds of local, recreational players.

In signing this petition, we respectfully request that the City
of Marion preserve Legion Park and Thomas Park as they are today, specifically
foregoing the land swap involving the proposed hill area.